Speaking of Champions, but Not Looking Like One

The Giants have absorbed a string of terrible losses this season: a beating in New Orleans, an embarrassment at home to Arizona, a rout in Philadelphia.

But on Sunday, the Giants may have lost their season.

Just when the fans at Giants Stadium sensed a spark, a glimmer of hope that this team might recapture some of the magic of 2007, the defense that had been so heralded in that Super Bowl season let them down. Again.

Only in spots this season has there been any fire for the Giants. The electricity and sense of purpose and mission that defined the previous two seasons have been missing, from the team and the fans.

When the Giants took a 20-14 lead over the San Diego Chargers with a little over two minutes to play, there were reasonable expectations that their three-game slide would end.

But San Diego’s Philip Rivers hit Vincent Jackson with the winning touchdown pass with 21 seconds to play, plunging the Giants to a fourth straight defeat, not only dimming hopes for a division championship but also putting a spot in the playoffs in doubt.

The Giants (5-4) are faced with the daunting task of playing four difficult games, against Atlanta, Denver, Dallas and Philadelphia.

“We’ve put ourselves in a situation we didn’t want to be in right now,” quarterback Eli Manning said. “These last seven are all going to be tough; it’s going to be very important for us to win those games. We can’t afford to lose any more.”

Two seasons ago, the Giants won the Super Bowl with the help of a miracle play when Manning escaped a sure sack and hit receiver David Tyree, who made the catch of a lifetime to set up the winning score. The Giants were good that night and lucky.

They came out of nowhere to win the Super Bowl and spent the next season proving to cynics that they were for real. But this season, injuries and a defense that seems lost and out of sync have pushed the Giants to the brink.

After the Giants’ loss last week in Philadelphia, Justin Tuck complained that the defense was thinking too much and not reacting. And Coach Tom Coughlin has complained that Manning is spending too much time with “the chess game” before the snap.

Last season, when it seemed they were rolling, the Giants got a bad break with Plaxico Burress. This season they have been hit by injuries and breaks that consistently have gone the other way.

“It seems like, to be honest with you, we’ve got to get some of these things going our way,” a frustrated Coughlin said. “This loss tonight, no matter what the circumstances, no matter if we were sitting there undefeated, this would have been a very hard loss. It was very difficult for me emotionally to come in there after that loss. We were in such great position to win and then to lose it like that.”

The Giants began the afternoon with a hopeful championship veneer. Shortly after the game began, the organization recognized Yankees Manager Joe Girardi. Girardi and his wife, Kim, were introduced to a cheering crowd, though the video screen mistakenly identified him as the Yankees’ general manager.

During an interview before the game, Coughlin gushed when asked if the Yankees’ success and the parade Friday inspired his team, perhaps giving it a much-needed spark. Coughlin singled out the core of Yankees players.

“Some interesting things were said about the four core players of the Yankees,” he said, referring to Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera, Jorge Posada and Andy Pettitte. “Humble, real humble guys. They go on the field and do their talking with their play. That’s what this game is all about.”

Then, alluding to the Giants’ championship season, Coughlin said: “The exhilaration of playing well, of doing your best, of giving great effort and succeeding — there’s nothing like it. You can’t describe it.”

If only the Giants could play by baseball’s economic rules, which allow a team like the Yankees to spend as much as it can afford on players. The Giants could buy the best free-agent safety, corner and linebackers; buy the best free-agent wide receiver and running back.

Sadly, for their fans, the Giants are stuck with what they have—and it may not be good enough.

Coughlin told the team that all is not lost: He told them that if the Giants play with the kind of energy they did on Sunday, if they upgrade their skill level and eliminate penalties, “I think we can come back and be a good football team.”

On Sunday, Manning headed off suggestions that the season was effectively over. But the game was like the season so far, an inconsistent ride to an uncertain destination.

A version of this article appears in print on November 9, 2009, on page D5 of the New York edition with the headline: Speaking of Champions, but Not Looking Like One. Order Reprints|Today's Paper|Subscribe